Hancock County, ME — Solar Development Risk Assessment

No Moratorium

None codified at county level. Municipal CUP/SUP in organized areas; LUPC in unorganized territories.

Municipal CUP/SUP (organized areas); LUPC permit (unorganized territories).

Conservative — Acadia NP; coastal ecology; COA environmental mission adds scrutiny; LUPC governs much

MDI/Acadia area; Bar Harbor (College of the Atlantic) area; Acadia NP; coastal ecology; LUPC governs much; SLODA >20 acres; limited solar; ecology-sensitive

Stable

Strong home rule tradition; dual-track permitting in organized municipalities. Maine DEP Site Location of Development Act (SLODA): required for developments >20 acres (catches most utility-scale solar); standards address stormwater, groundwater, wildlife, aesthetics. Natural Resources Protection Act (NRPA): separate DEP permit for projects affecting wetlands, significant wildlife habitat, or other protected natural resources. Local zoning: organized municipalities (most of southern/coastal ME) require local permits in addition to state permits — dual track; a moratorium can be imposed even after state permits issued (unique ME vested rights doctrine). Land Use Planning Commission (LUPC): governs ~10.5 million acres of Unorganized Territory (UT) in northern/remote ME (much of Aroostook, Piscataquis, Somerset, Penobscot, Washington, Franklin, Oxford, Hancock counties). DACF Permit: required for solar ≥5 acres on High-Value Agricultural Land (HVAL) — new, eff. April 20, 2025. Aroostook and Washington counties (far NE): outside ISO-NE footprint; served by Versant Power (Emera). Central ME Power (Avangrid) and Versant Power are Maine's two investor-owned utilities.

Maine RPS: 80% renewable by 2030; 100% by 2050 (LD 1494, enacted 2019). Net Energy Billing (NEB): Maine's community solar program; subscription-based bill credits; Nautilus Solar, Greenbacker, MN8 Energy (formerly Goldman Sachs) are major operators in ME. Maine CEDF (Clean Energy Development Fund): grants for renewable energy projects via MPUC/CEF. Competitive solicitations: multi-state RFPs (ME, CT, MA, VT) for new solar capacity. Utility: Central Maine Power (CMP/Avangrid) serves southern/central ME; Versant Power (EMERA Maine) serves northern ME and Bangor area.

Greenbacker portfolio includes Hancock County as part of 83.2 MW / 10-county Maine portfolio (Mainebiz). Multiple smaller community solar arrays under Net Energy Billing program. CMP utility territory (Hancock is partially CMP, partially Versant).

ME DEP 2024 proposed rules: discourage solar on prime farmland (Bangor Daily News Aug 14 2024). SLODA: DEP review for >20 acres cleared or >3 MW. NRPA: wetlands/stream buffers. LUPC governs unorganized territories (~10.4M acres). Source: ME DEP; SLODA 38 MRSA §481; Bangor Daily News Aug 14 2024